January 14, 2010

Ed note: For the next several weeks, composer and film aficionado Lewis Saul has agreed to supply us with in-depth commentary about the films of Akira Kurosawa, now showing in an extended festival at the Film Forum. Even if you're unable to stop by the Forum, we think Lew's insights will deepen your appreciation of these important movies.

"Set in the 16th century, a princess (Misa Uehara) and her retainers are on the run from forces that would overthrow her. The only way she and her clan can survive is to cross a heavily guarded border into safety. The general guarding her (Mifune) comes up with an ingenious plan. With the help of two greedy country bumpkins (Minoru Chiaki and Kamatari Fujiwara) [who beats Chiaki by two! -- 12 films with AK -- and almost all completely memorable characters*], oblivious to the general's and princess's identities, they pretend to be firewood dealers, hiding the clan's gold in hollow sticks of firewood. They are eventually captured, but a sympathetic warrior (Susumu Fujita, the star of many of Kurosawa's early films) employed by the enemy suddenly frees them, joining them as they escape across the border." [p. 254]

A rip-roaring adventure of wide-screen fun, this film was no accident. After the bleakness of his two 1957 films (Donzoko [The Lower Depths] {January 31st and February 1st} and Kumonosu jo [Throne of Blood], Kurosawa said, "No heavy themes on the next film. I want to make a 100% entertainment film, full of thrills and fun." And so he did!

It is important to remember the facts of life circa 1958. Like the amazing 3-D Avatar, playing in a theater near you at this very moment, wide-screen films of the late fifties were crucial to the studios (the Japanese were just catching up to the technology at this time). With television stealing warm bodies away from the village movie house, new technology was a very important aspect of the studios' efforts to get people back into the movie theater. And as for Kurosawa, the wide-screen format may just as well have been invented specifically for his directorial style!

There is no better example than the opening of the film. As the two peasants, Tahei (Chiaki) and Matakishi (Fujiwara) are bickering away, a bloodied samurai (Takeshi Katô) suddenly backs into the frame and is killed by samurai on horseback. The effect of seeing so much horizontal film must have been similar to the oohs and aahs of today's filmgoers who marvel at Avatar.

It would be yet another 12 years before Kurosawa would finally make a film in color. But there is no sense of missing that particular technology in this film -- Kazuo Yamasaki's photography is beautiful; the black and whites are as crisp as can be and moments like the one where Tahei and Matakishi spot each other on the stairs at a great distance while one descends as the other ascends -- just before all hell breaks loose! -- is a superb use of the wide-screen format (not to mention the way AK uses those long telephoto lenses) ...

Please enjoy this film. Here are a few tidbits of things that really tickle my Kurosawa bone (not sure where that is anatomically -- but it is definitely there somewhere!)

I wonder how many readers don't know the story by now? In any case, the Criterion DVD of this film has the George Lucas interview where he confirms that he got the idea for telling the Star Wars story from the point of view of the two lowliest characters -- as Kurosawa does here! My feeling is that Lucas' homage is really terrific! And one of his characters doesn't speak any human language at all!

Masaru Satô's fourth score for AK (he would go on to do five more) ... the military flavor, with crackling drums and screeching piccolos ... seems to bring the staid black and white credits to life! The music stops after the director credit and the storytelling begins.

And what a (visual) storyteller he is! The wide-screen simply adores Kurosawa's camera! When the two peasants are reunited and forced to dig for gold in the wrecked castle -- check out the smashed castle walls! This kind of amazing detailed set construction is one of the things that gave Kurosawa's producers stomach ulcers (see Akahige [Red Beard] {1965}, February 2nd) nearly two years in the making due to these kinds of meticulously detailed sets).

Kôji Mitsui (b. 1910, same as AK) was sort of an honorary member of the Kurosawa-gumi (acting troupe), who were mostly from Toho; Mitsui was on loan from Shochiku, and he appeared in seven films, this being his third. Most were teensy parts like this one (the guard yelling down to the slaves to dig for gold), but his role (and final line) in The Lower Depths gives him a sort of AK-immortality!

Re: scene on the stairs ~ Kurosawa could have had a baby carriage tumbling down those steps -- but then again, that might have been a little too obvious! Yes, I'm sure this is another subtle Eisenstein tribute (my own opinion), especially as they move into a little niche in the back, and AK films the two scared peasants through a moving sea of spindly legs, spilling down the stairs! It's brilliant and beautiful.

The theft of the rice is told in an extremely short episode separated by horizontal wipes.

I love the scene where they are trying to cook the rice. Another example of the brilliance of the screenplay: how will they discover the gold? Of course. Matakishi (who is very hungry!) checks the rice which is not yet ready. Then discovering that the wood isn't burning, he throws the offending stick away from the campfire. The sound is of the wood breaking into pieces until ... ping! ... we hear the sound of the gold bar hitting a rock! The shot of the gold bar is accompanied by the sound of a vibraphone. A very beautiful decision of orchestration.

Note Mifune's entrance: Filmed in the distant background, arms crossed, looking stern, as Tahei and Matakishi espy him from the immediate foreground.

Wipes are usually used to show time passing. One of my favorite series of wipes occurs when T& M are wondering what to do about the strange man (Mifune) who is following them. A horizontal wipe to the left and Matakichi says he wants to go back and look for the gold, but Tahei decides it would be better to make camp where they are now. This scene is very short and is followed by another wipe left and suddenly it is night! Very effective.

See enough Kurosawa and you will eventually pick up on the following sort of thing instinctively: he loves to use maps and other types of props to show the viewer something which he is going to explain either a) soon or b) later on. In Shichinin no samurai (The Seven Samurai) [1954] (January 29th and 30th), it is the map of the village -- here, Tahei draws a map in the sandy ground. He seems to be improvising as he explains to Rokurota Makabe how they plan to get home by taking a circuitous route which would avoid the heaviest concentration of border guards. Mifune begins to laugh heartily. We find out later that Tahei's nervous invention actually saved the peasants' lives.

The climb up the rocks is hilarious; and notice how Tahei kicks a large rock down the slide and Satô playfully orchestrates its descent until it finally stops rolling and he finishes with a downbeat!

Sometimes Kurosawa creates a visual which is delightful to see at least twice! The shot is innocent enough on initial viewing -- but notice the beautiful framing of all the "gold-sticks" in the water as T& M dip their heads in to drink, and nearly disappear from the frame.

The class-distinction stuff is lost on a lot of non-Asians. The clan is not thrilled about using two greedy peasants and the peasants do not trust the princess and general. The conversation between the two Akitsuki generals (Mifune and Takashi Shimura) is brutally truthful. "Sometimes even moss is smart," remarks Shimura's general about the peasants' plan. Even at the end, the love carries a sort of tension behind it. [The princess, who the peasants once treated with scorn and contempt, now scares them beyond belief!]

At times, the peasants show a curious kind of independent spirit which occasionally erupts into outright rebellion. When Makabe tells them he'll kill them if they touch the girl, they don't seem to take the warning too seriously. The minute he leaves, they bravely decide to split, taking the entire stash of gold with them. Clearly, though Makabe intimidates them, they act as they wish (usually stupidly) ...

Look at that sweat on their bodies as they dig at the fortress!

Another awesome wide-screen shot occurs around here -- T & M are placed on the left and right edges of the frame around this sandy pit they have dug, shot from below.

Again, repeat viewing pays off ... watch Mifune's reactions to the news that "Princess Yuki" has been beheaded. Of course, it makes sense he would be upset if his lord's heir had been killed -- but when we learn the entire truth in a few more moments, it is even more meaningful...

The wonderful double-exposure of the crescent flag and Yuki's face as she cries has a good story behind it: Uehara: "For the scene where the princess stood at the top of the mountain weeping for the double executed in her place, I just couldn't get myself to cry, no matter how hard I tried. The scene was shot at the Ikuta open set near the studio by the chief assistant director -- Mr. Kurosawa wasn't even there! The AD crushed an onion and put it under my eyes, but I still couldn't cry. While I was trying, the sun started to go down. All of a sudden I became very sad and couldn't stop crying when I realized the crew wouldn't be able to go home [unless I started crying]. This is one of my good memories." [Galbraith, p. 258]

Great moments: watching Fujiwara pantomime a horse drinking water out of an over-sized sake bowl...

I would be humbled to be proved wrong ~ but my frame-by-frame analysis seems to suggest that Mifune does not at any time use a double during this chase scene! The last stunt looks particularly dangerous, and my examination seems to show all Mifune and no cutting away. The man could ride a horse!

The duel has a special significance to Kurosawa fans ~ it features the star of almost all of the early films (Susumu Fujita, here playing Heiei Tadokoro, his fifth AK role out of eight) versus the star of the later ones...

Notice the way Satô uses a simple lick on the timpani to accompany the duel. Very suspenseful!

The Fire Festival (himatsuri) is either a gorgeous song & dance routine inserted at just the right moment or a massively bad interruption of the action-packed story -- depending on your point of view. Even if you hate the routine, the call-back when Tadokoro sings it at the end is worth having it in there! I just love seeing Mifune, et al. dance like that!

Kurosawa loves to parallel his actions: after all the climbing (stairs, rockslides) in the earlier part of the film, we get it again as the captured soldiers are whipped along by the peasants -- who know what it's like to climb up steep grades like this!

The scene at the end with the two peasants sitting together sadly on the ground -- this parallels the opening scene...

A quick half-century-ago backward glance at the historical situation: this film was made just six short years after the end of the Occupation. From 1945-1952, no Japanese filmmaker was permitted to make any type of chambara, or sword-fighting, film; or to depict what McArthur termed "feudalistic loyalty" -- in other words, this film would not have been permitted just six years earlier!

Toho was beginning to worry about the incredible cost of financing a Kurosawa film. Although this film did fantastic business and definitely made money for Toho, Kurosawa formed his own production company right around this time, which financed his next film and many thereafter...

Although Daisuke Katô is credited with appearing in only four AK films (he is one of the Seven Samurai: Shichirôji), he is definitely in this film, as well. He is one of the guards (in the front-center of frame) who is taunting Mifune for having asked for a reward. He has one line: "Greedy!"

There are 34 wipes in this film, all horizontal -- 27 to the left and seven to the right.

Shichinin no samurai (The Seven Samurai) [1954] (January 29th and 30th) -- Manzô, Shino's father. A very important character, who tends to move the action forward with as little as a slight change of expression on his clownish face ...

Tengoku to jigoku (High and Low) [1963] (January 22nd) -- Junkyard Cook. Minor role, but shockingly convincing ~ as grubby and skinny a character as he ever played! He looks like Matakishi (the character he plays in this film) on crack ...

Akahige (Red Beard) [1965] (February 2nd) -- Rokusuke. Another unforgettable role. In a long film packed with memorable characters, Rokusuke -- with his fascinating back story -- stands out ...

Dodesukaden [1970] (February 1st) -- Suicidal Old Man. His appearance here is startling. Coming mere months before Kurosawa's own suicide attempt, this is one eerie portrayal. The scene of his attempted suicide is a brilliant duet with Mr. Tamba (Atsushi Watanabe) ...

Kagemusha (The Double/Shadow Warrior) [1980] (January 27th) -- Doctor. Fujiwara was five years older than Kurosawa who was 70 when he made this film (making Fujiwara 75) ... a very minor part, but nevertheless an important one! His big moment comes when Shingen's palanquin stops for a rest and Shingen -- after a short outburst -- dies. Without any dialogue whatsoever, the Doctor exchanges a severe glance with Masakage Yamagata (Hideji [Shuji] Ôtaki) which we realize means that the entire palanquin detail will be murdered to prevent any leaks about the existence of the double ...

Comments

Ed note: For the next several weeks, composer and film aficionado Lewis Saul has agreed to supply us with in-depth commentary about the films of Akira Kurosawa, now showing in an extended festival at the Film Forum. Even if you're unable to stop by the Forum, we think Lew's insights will deepen your appreciation of these important movies.

"Set in the 16th century, a princess (Misa Uehara) and her retainers are on the run from forces that would overthrow her. The only way she and her clan can survive is to cross a heavily guarded border into safety. The general guarding her (Mifune) comes up with an ingenious plan. With the help of two greedy country bumpkins (Minoru Chiaki and Kamatari Fujiwara) [who beats Chiaki by two! -- 12 films with AK -- and almost all completely memorable characters*], oblivious to the general's and princess's identities, they pretend to be firewood dealers, hiding the clan's gold in hollow sticks of firewood. They are eventually captured, but a sympathetic warrior (Susumu Fujita, the star of many of Kurosawa's early films) employed by the enemy suddenly frees them, joining them as they escape across the border." [p. 254]

A rip-roaring adventure of wide-screen fun, this film was no accident. After the bleakness of his two 1957 films (Donzoko [The Lower Depths] {January 31st and February 1st} and Kumonosu jo [Throne of Blood], Kurosawa said, "No heavy themes on the next film. I want to make a 100% entertainment film, full of thrills and fun." And so he did!

It is important to remember the facts of life circa 1958. Like the amazing 3-D Avatar, playing in a theater near you at this very moment, wide-screen films of the late fifties were crucial to the studios (the Japanese were just catching up to the technology at this time). With television stealing warm bodies away from the village movie house, new technology was a very important aspect of the studios' efforts to get people back into the movie theater. And as for Kurosawa, the wide-screen format may just as well have been invented specifically for his directorial style!